Submarine tunneling.



No. 723,986. i PATBNTED MAR. 321, 1903. H. A. CARSON.

v SUBMARINE TUNNBLING..

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 24, 1902.

HO MODEL.

lll*

tlllmlli dit la 23W PATBNTED MAR. s1, 1903i.

H.' A. CARSON.

SUBMARINB TUNNELING.

APPLIOATIDN FILED OV. 24, 1902.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

No MODEL.

Jz'n asses.'

No. 723,986. PATENTEDjM-A. 31, 1,903.

H. A. CARSON.

SUBMARINE TUNNBLING.

Y APPLIoATIoN FILED Nov. 24, 1902. 11o MODEL. a SHEETS-SHEET s.

Mnesses: j 277067255021' UNITEDA STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HOWARD A. CARSON, OF MALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS.

SUBNIARINE TUNNELING.

SPECIFICATION forming'part of Letters Patent No. 723,986, dated March31, 1903.

Application filed November 24, 1902. Serial No. 132,551. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom, it may con/erven Beit known that I, HOWARD A. CARSON, ofMalden, county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented anImprovement in Submarine Tunneling, of which the following description,in connection with the accompanying drawings, isaspecification, likecharacters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to certain appliances to be employed inconstructing a tunnel in water.

Tunnels have been made in the earth below Water by well-known means;`but so far as I am aware none have been built through water except bylowering tubes and con nectiug them together.

Myinvention has for its principal object the provision of a form of`tnnneli'ng-shield which may be employed in constructingatunnel in theearth and then may be converted so that the same shield may be used forconstructing the tunnel in the Water.

Another object of gmyrinvention is to provide a guiding means. for theshield as it is moved forward upon the bottom or bedrof the body ofwater in which the tunnel is laid, so that the tunnel will be built insubstantially the desired position,fa lsubstantially uniform supportbeing provided for the tunnel after it is laid, and the construction ofa tunnel in the water being made practicable.

For an understanding of the means which l preferably em ploy in carryingout these objects reference is now made to the accompanying drawings, inwhich- Figure l shows a side elevation illustrating the employment of myinvention in building a tunnel in Water.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central section of the device shown in Fig. l.Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view of a means for maintaining awater-tight joint between the tunneland tunnel-shield. Fig. 4 is an endview of the tunnel-shield and guiding means therefor when the tunnel islaid in Water. Fig. 5 is a view of the inner side of the front end ofthe shield'. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view'showing the meansfor passing the shield from earth to Water. Figs. 7 and 8 are detailviews showing the adjusting means for the shield-gage. Fig. 9

is a cross-sectional view on the line a: Fig. l. Figs. 10, 11, and 12are enlarged detail views showing the adjustingV means for thetunneling-shield, which consists, substantially, of a cylindertelescoping on the outside of the tunnel, with its front end more orless open 'and usually having a sharp front edge, means being providedfor forcing the shield forward as the earth is excavated in frontthereof and carried through the tunnel as it is built within the shield.

' In carryingout myinvention Iemploy simi-l lar means, as shown in Figs.land 2, in which a indicates a common form of tunnel made up in sectionsor otherwise, and b a tunneling-shield capable of being employed inearth excavations. In order that said shield b may be used in water, itis provided with a head c, said head comprising six or more edgesections c', all or most of which are of the same size and shape and areprovided with inwardly-bent'cdge flanges on all sides, which are boltedtogetherand to a seat formed on the inner side of the shield at itsfront end, and a center section c2, of hexagonal form, having flangeswhich are bolted to the inner edge anges of the section c, as shown inFig. 5. The sections of said headand their edge flanges are vpreferablyso formed that when they are all bolted together the head will be ofconvex form, so as to better resist the water-pressure tovwhich it maybe subjected. The usual hydraulic jacks d are provided for forcing theshield forwardly.

In building a tunnel under water by the process herein described anapproximation to its required bed must first be prepared, and this willusually be done by dredginga channel or ditch in the bed of the streamto such a depth as may be necessary to reachpthe desired level or grade.A channel as thus prepared necessarily has an uneven bottom, and toovercome this and other difficulties I- provide therein a series ofguides for the shield as it is moved forward, which preferably comprisea series of cross-ties c, each having a pair of cradles f secured to oneside thereof,

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said cradles f being curved on their upper ends according to thecurvature of the outer surface of thetunnel and being secured to theties by any suitable means, as bolts f. Said cradles are preferably,though not neef essarily, made of metal, as it aids materially insinking and in holding the cross-ties in place. These ties are placed inposition by a diver as fast as the shield is pushed for- 1o ward, eachtie being set'before the shield is moved onto it and firmly secured insuch a position that the shield will he guided in the desired directionor to the desired position as it is moved onto the cradle. The end ofthe shield and the corners of the cradles and ties A'next the shield arepreferably rounded or beveled, as indicated in Figs. l and 2, so that ifthe shield should engage the sides oit a cradle or tie as it is movedforward it will be more readily guided into the correct position on thesame.

In order that the diver may 'accurately set the cross-ties and cradlesfor supporting the tunnel and shield in advance ot' the latter, the headof the shield isprovided with an adjustable gage or arm, which may beset from within the shield according to the position thereof. Thisdevice may comprise a baseplate g, which is clamped against the outerside ot' the middle plate c2 by means of bolts g', which pass throughapertures in said plate, which are of somewhat greater diameter thanthat of the bolts, said plate g tightly covering a central aperture c3in the plate c2, through which a projection g2, integral with plate g,extends, this construction permitting adjustment ot' plate g withrespect to plate c2 from within the shield. To adjust said plate g fromWithin the shield, I may employ various devices, and among such theconst rnc* tion shown in detail in Figs. 7 and 8, in which the innerface ot the plate c2 is shown as prolvided with three lugs c4, c5, andc6, and said inward project-ion g2 is made square and premssed on itsupper and under sides by screw-threaded rods g5 g, which pass throughthe lugs c4 and c6 and are provided with nuts f/4g7. Ascrew-threaded rodgs passes through the lug c5, and nuts g are provided on said rod at theopposite sides of said lug. The inner end of said rod gS has atransverselyextending head gw secured thereto, which is dovetailed in aslot in said projection g2, so that the latter may move vertically, butnot horizontally, with respect to said rod g8. It will be apparent thatby turning said nuts g4 Q7 Q9 said plate g may be moved to any desiredposition within necessary limits. rlhe outer side of the base g isprovided with a centrally arranged horizontally and forwardly extendingarm gu, and a gage 7L is swiveled on the outer end of said arm, so thatit may swing in a plane perpendicular to the center line of the tunneland on an axis which is coincident with the center line of projectiong2. The length of the gage 7L is preferably equal to the distance fromthe center of the shield to its outer sides, andthe base plate g isnormally arranged so that the center line of projection g2 will coincidewith the center line ofthe shield and ltunnel.

In practice the diver will set the tie next to the one on which thefront end ot' the shield is resting in such a position that the end ofthe gage 7L will just touch the upper curved ends of the cradlef thereonand then he secures this tie in position, so that when the shield isadvanced it will be guided onto the cradle of this tie in the desiredalinement with the tunnel alreadylaid.

lf just before the gage h is to be used by the diver it is found by theengineer in the tunnel that the center of projection g2 is not in thecenter ot' the tunnel, and therefore that the shield has deviated fromits proper course, then the plate g will be moved until l the center ofsaid projection g2 is in said center line, so that when the diver putsthe next tie in place it will be adjusted according to the position inwhich the shield is before itis moved. Therefore the next time theshield is moved forward its deviation from the desired course iscorrected as it slides up the inclined side ofthe cradle and tie. Thisoperation continues until the tunnel islaid, the shield being movedforward from tiel to tie successively as they are set, the tunnel beingbuilt up inside of the shield and being covered, if expedient, after theshield leaves it.

ln the process of tunnelingin water it may at times be necessary ordesirable to move the front end ot' the shield up, down, orsidewise, andfor this purpose I may provide the front end of the shield with two 01more adjustable legs. (Illustrated indetail in Figs. lO, l1, and 12.) Asshown in Figs. l() and 12, I provide the shield at each side with acylindrical-shaped seath1,having a slot b5 in themiddlethereot'andmidwaybetweenitsends. Acy- 1indricalshaped holder b5 isfitted in said seat, said holder being provided with trunnions 127 ateach end, which are journaled in bearings, the base portions Z13 ofwhich are secured to the inner side of the shield and the caps b9 ofwhich are adjustably secured to said base portions by bolts, so thatthey may force the holder tightly against the seat b4, preventing theentrance of water into the shield. By accurately fitting the holders totheir seats the use of a packing between them may be avoided. Eachholder is provided with a screwthreaded leg Z210, which passes radiallythrough the center thereof and through the opening b5 in the middle ofthe seat h4. These legs. may be made of any suitable length, and thedistance which they extend beyond the surface of the shield may bevaried by simply screwing them out or in. Said legs may also be tippedto various inclinations by swinging the holders b, in which they aremounted, on their trunnions. With this means the shield may be raised ormoved sidewise orobliquely in any direction by forcing the ends of thelegs against the surface of the cradles orties IOO IIO

or against the earth, and if `it is found n'ecessary to set the guide ortie lower the shield may be temporarily supported on these legs whilethe tie is being reset, and then the shield may be lowered. After theshield has been adjusted it may be held in the adjusted position byblocks, wedges, or earth filling, and then the legs may be withdrawnwithin the holders While the shield is moved forward. It may be observedin this connection that the weight of the shield will be made but littlegreater than the weight of the water which it displaces, so that it maybe easily moved.

As the outer diameter of the shield is greater than that of the tunnel,the latter will tend to settle onto the ties and cradles after theshield leaves it. This settling may usually be prevented by earth llingand is usually unobjectionable. It may be prevented when desirable byproviding the tunnel with adjustable legs a', as shown in Fig. 9.

In order to prevent leakage of water between the shield and tunnel, Iprovide theinner surface of the shield with a water-tight packing, whichpreferably comprises an annular packing-chamber b at its telescoping endbetween two inwardly-extending ribs b2 and b3, into which a semiliquidmaterial, such as plastic clay, is forced by suitable means. Such meansmay consist of a cylinder la, in which one end of a plunger Z is adaptedto operate, said cylinder being secured to the inner side of the shieldand connected to chamber b. The opposite end of said plunger is locatedin a cylinder m, also secured to the inner side ofthe shield inalinement with cylinder 1c, and air or water may be forced into cylinder'm to force the plunger into cylinder 7a by means of pipe 'm'. A pipe k3may be connected to the end of cylinderlc next chamber b', and bothpipes 7c3 and m may be opened to a supply ofair or water under pressureor to an exhaust by athree- Way valve v.

A Valve 702 is preferably provided in the pipe connecting the chamberfand cylinder 7c, which may be closed while cylinder k is being filled.Said cylinder lc is filled with plastic clay, which is forced intochamber b by the plunger Z until it is completely filled. By keepingthis chamber filled with clay leakage past the end of the tunnel is in agreat measure prevented, even if compressed air is not employed in thetunnel. Thetendency of the outside water to enter the shield may belessened to any desired extent by means of said compressed air, the clayblocking the passage between the tunnel and shield and preventing theair and water from passing in such passage. Moreover, with this form ofpacking the outer side of the tuilnel need not be as true and smooth aswould be required with ordinary packingsuch as leather, rubber,orhemp--and while packings such as these last three are easilyinjured-or destroyed by grit and rough usage a packing such as hereinprovided may be constantly 'partly removed, and most tunnels which arelaid under water must be started on shore at some distance from thewater. .Some means may be desirable in many cases to facilitate thepassage of the shield from earth into thev water. To accomplish this, Ipreferably employ the means illustrated in Fig. 6, in which n indicatesan outer tube or hood, of somewhat larger diameter t-han the shield b,having one end closed by the removable head o and the other end open.

The channel in which the tunnel is to be constructed is dredged asclosely to the shore as possible, and then the outer tube n, which willusually be considerably longer than is convenientlyindicated in thedrawings, isset in the end thereof in alinement with the tun-` nel, withits open end next the shore. Its open end is then covered with earth,much or all of the interior being thereby filled with earth, asindicated in Fig. 6. As said shield b progresses it will enter ltheouter tube n, and by the regular process of earth-tunneling it may bemoved to near the forward end. When the shield b is forced into shield na suic-ient distance, the head cis secured in place in the front end ofthe shield b, as previously described, the Water-tight packing is forcedinto chamber b', and then the head 0 of the shield n is removed from theoutside by the diver.. The construction of the tunnel in the waterwill'then be carried on as beforedescribed, the shield b being pushed onthrough the outer tube n, as will be obvious.

Having thus described myinvention, what .for forcing plastic materialinto said chamber, substantially as described. l

3. In combination with a tunnel, a shield closed-at one end and havingits opposite end telescoped with the tunnel, a pair ofinwardlyprojecting ribs on the inner surface of the shield adjacent itsopen end, forming a packing-chamber, and meansfor forcing plasticpacking into said chamber, substantially as described.

4. In combination with a tunnel, a shield ,TOO

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having a head for closing one end and adapted to telescope with thetunnel at the opposite end, means for moving said shield forwardly, anda guiding-support for said shield arranged in front thereof,substantially as described.

5. In combination with a tunnel, a shield having a head for closing oneend and adapted to telescope with the tunnel at the opposite end, meansfor moving said shield forwardly, a guide-support for said shield, and agage for setting said guiding-support connected to and extending infront of said head, substantially as described.

6. In combination with a tunnel, a shield having a head for closing oneend and adapted to telescope with the tunnel at the opposite end, meansfor moving said shield forwardly, a guiding-support for said shield, anda gage for setting said guiding-support connected to and adjustable fromwithin the shield, and extending in front thereof, substantially asdescribed.

7. In combination with a tunnel, a shield having a head for closing oneend and adapted to telescope with the tunnel at the opposite end, meansfor moving said shield forwardly, a guide for the shield arranged infront there of, and means for varying the vertical and lateral positionof the shield from within the same, substantially as described.

8. In combination with a tunnel, a tunneling-shield having one endadapted to fit over the tunnel, a removable head in separable sectionsfor closing the opposite end of said shield, and an outer tube ofgreater internal diameter than the external diameter of the shield,having a head for closing one end thereof which is removable fromwithoutL the shield, substantially as described.

9. In combination with a tunnel, a shield l having a head for closingone end and adapted to telescope with the tunnel at the opposite end,means for moving said shield forwardly,

and means, passing through the walls of the shield, for varying itsvertical and lateral position from within the same, substantially asdescribed.

10. In combination with a tunnel, a shield having a head for closing oneendadapted to telescope with the tunnel at the opposite end, means formovingsaid shield forwardly, means for moving the shield from within thesame comprising a holder having a rounded face, an apertured seat in theshield, means for holding the face of said holder against said seat, anda longitudinally-adjustable leg passing through said holder and theaperture of said seat, substantially as described.

11. In combination with a tunnel, a shield having a head for closing oneend and adapted to telescope with the tunnel at the opposite end, meansfor moving said shield forwardly, means for moving the shield fromwithin the same comprising aholder having a cylindrical face, acorrespondingly-shaped seat formed in the inner side of said shieldhaving an aperture leading to the outer side, a pair of trunnions atopposite ends of said holder, rigid bearings therefor andlongitudinally-adjustable legs passing through said holders and saidapertures, substantially as described.

12. In combination with a tunnel, a shield having a head for closing oneend and adapted to telescope with the tunnel at the opposite end, meansfor moving said shield forwardly, a guiding-support for said shieldarranged in front thereof and having obliquely-disposedguiding-surfaces, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

HOWARD A. CARSON.

Witnesses:

LOUIS H. HARRIMAN, H. B. DAVIS.

